Chinese celebrate Lantern Festival nationwide

 　　BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- People around the country took part in various activities to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which falls on Sunday, marking the first full moon of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

　　In the thousand-year-old Pingyao Town in north China's Shanxi Province, people hung lanterns above front doors and set off fireworks to celebrate.

　　"We traveled from Beijing to Pingyao, and experienced different atmospheres of Lantern Festival celebrations. Pingyao is livelier," said Sarah Brown, an Australian tourist.

　　"It's easy to get separated from my friends in such busy streets.... we just learnt the charm of the Chinese Lunar New Year," she said.

　　Zheng Rui enjoyed the local traditional custom performances.8 "My teacher told me to keep writing a diary during the winter vacation, so I watched the performances so I can write about them. The journey will be worthwhile with impressive memories," Zheng said.

　　Besides eating Yuanxiao, a sweetened dumpling made of glutinous¹ rice flour and stuffed with meat, nuts, fruit or sugar, Zheng, his parents and relatives visited the ancient town walls and government office of the feudal² period.

　　The old town also put on a variety of performances, including the "dragon lantern dance," the "lion dance," stilt-walking and Pingyao operas.

　　In northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous³ Region, Xinjiang Library prepared more than 1,000 Chinese puzzles and 300 puzzles for minority residents.

　　Humanitarians⁴ from the Communist Party of China, governments, army, schools and enterprises of Xinjiang took part in charity performances and a bazaar⁵ to help people in need and the disabled.

　　In central China's Henan Province, to reduce air pollution and avoid smog, cities and districts of Zhengzhou, Jiyuan, Zhoukou, Zhumadian and Sanmenxia decided⁶ to cancel their fireworks displays.

　　The government of Zhengzhou, the provincial⁷ capital, held cultural, art performances, intangible cultural heritage and large-scale lamp exhibitions in the city's parks.

　　"It's worthwhile giving up fireworks for fresh air, and I believe citizens understand the cancellation," said Wang Dezhi, a Zhengzhou resident.

　　"A half-hour fireworks show costs 700,000 yuan (112,000 U.S. dollars). It's a little bit regretful not watching the show, but it's more practical to use the money to improve people's lives, improve education in poor areas and build more public infrastructure," a netizen named "Yinchuanlaoliu" commented on the Internet after learning that Yinchuan City, capital of northwest Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region canceled its fireworks show.

　　In northeastern Jilin Province, some fireworks sellers said they faced a quiet festival since people were refusing to buy products.

　　"I only sold one hundred yuan worth of fireworks today. I bought 50,000 yuan worth of fireworks this year, but there are still more than 5,000 yuan worth to sell," said Wang Li, a fireworks shop owner.?

1 glutinous   

adj.粘的，胶状的

参考例句：

• The sauce was glutinous and tasted artificial.这种酱有些黏，尝起来不是非常地道。
• The coat covering the soft candies is made from glutinous rice.包裹软糖的江米纸是由糯米做成的。

2 feudal   

adj.封建的，封地的，领地的

参考例句：

• Feudal rulers ruled over the country several thousand years.封建统治者统治这个国家几千年。
• The feudal system lasted for two thousand years in China.封建制度在中国延续了两千年之久。

3 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

4 humanitarians   

n.慈善家( humanitarian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finally, humanitarians saw it as a means of helping to feed the hungry of the world. 人道主义者把这一计划看成是为世界上那些忍饥挨饿的人提供粮食的一项措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• All humanitarians fought against slavery. 所有人道主义者都为反对奴隶制而斗争过。 来自互联网

5 bazaar   

n.集市，商店集中区

参考例句：

• Chickens,goats and rabbits were offered for barter at the bazaar.在集市上，鸡、山羊和兔子被摆出来作物物交换之用。
• We bargained for a beautiful rug in the bazaar.我们在集市通过讨价还价买到了一条很漂亮的地毯。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。